Home for Christmas

Gingerbread village

The last of 7 gingerbread houses I have made in the last week, somehow found myself on a gingerbread roll and couldn't get off!!! 

Dressing the dresser for Christmas

I've been busy Chistmassing up my dresser.

How to make.... Simple door garland

To create a welcoming entrance this Yuletide, dress your front door with greenery and twinkly lights! You need a strip of mesh... I use a corner mesh (plasterers use this when plastering corners). These cost about £1.50 from any builders merchants. They are strong but flexible and can be bent to any shape around your doorway! Once you have done this, secure with a nails or screws.

Start to weave your greenery (I used conifer hedging off cuts) into the holes in the mesh from the bottom so that each branch overlaps the stalks of the one underneath and secure with twine. Work the greenery up one side and then up the other, building it up as you go until the mesh is entirely covered. 

When you are happy with the basic shape add your lights ensuring you have enough lead to reach a power source.  Embellish with Holly, Ivy, fur cones and apples and hang a sprig of mistletoe from the top or you could hang your door decoration that you made earlier (see previous post).  

Collecting the Christmas tree!

Rustic Farmhouse Table NOW SOLD

I finished this beautiful table today, it took a lot of work to get it how I wanted it,  we sanded and waxed, painted and limed and now it's a gorgeous Nordic/French rustic farmhouse ready for its new home! I love it so much that I don't want to sell it! It looks AMAZING in my kitchen. Matt says we can keep it if we sell our table but as this was a wedding present I don't think I can do it so the pale beauty has got to go!  We really need it out of the way before Christmas so a bargain to be had!  This table would normally be £500 but we have it on ebay with a starting bid of £130 so have a look!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/French-style-rustic-oak-farmhouse-table-/131371446601?pt=UK_Home_Garden_LivingRoomFurniture_EH&hash=item1e96593149

Pixie

Our daughter has a very special friend called Pixie who comes to visit each year on the 1st of December.  She lives in Lapland with Father Christmas and turns up bearing gifts if Trulie has been good. She also reports back to father Christmas of any misdemeanors each night! Last year, by way of a  hidden go-pro camera we were able to capture Pixie up to her magical night time antics. Apologies for the graininess of the photos these were taken in the dead of night when all the house was sleeping!!!

 Pixie unhooking herself from the chimney breast where she hangs.

Pixie walking out of the playroom!

         Pixie helping herself to the contents of the fridge!

Pixie flicking channels

How to make.....Christmas Door Deco

I love Christmas, I love everything about it, the lead up especially when my daughter and I start making bits and pieces to decorate the house.  We love gathering and foraging for greenery from the garden and the woods. I much prefer to fill our home with natural, homemade decorations made from stuff we have found on dog walks down the lane, in the forest or at the beach.  Its something I learnt from my mother who always filled our home at Christmas with masses of conifer, Holly, Ivy and Laurel turning it from a 70's mock Georgian 3 bed into a magical Bavarian mountain chalet, or so it felt to a starry eyed 5 year old.  Not only is it great fun collecting and sorting through your finds, you get a wonderful sense of achievement when you create something beautiful from a bunch of damp undergrowth and it makes the whole house smell AMAZING! And best of all its free!

Today we made a simple door decoration from just a few bits we found in the garden.  It took about 15 minutes to make and provided its on the outside of the door it should stay looking lovely until Twelfth night. Heres how to make it:

I used some bendy sticks ....easy to find this time of year now the leaves have fallen (I used lilac) some ivy, an apple, (crab apples are perfect if you are lucky enough to have a tree) some berries and I had a couple of hydreangia heads that have survived, but fur cones would be just as good.  You will also need some wire or some gardeners string and a piece of ribbon to embelish!



So take some of the longest and bendiest sticks and make two loops to form a heart shape holding the ends in one hand where they come down to join up.  Secure with some gardeners wire so they don't spring apart.  Strengthen further up with some twine if you need to do this see below. My twig heart is very simple but the more twigs you use the more dramatic the look.  (It may take a little longer that 10 minutes depending how many twigs you use),





Take another handful of sticks about 15 - 20'' long and secure at the top to form a bundle.  Trim the top so its neat if you need to. Tie tightly with a long piece of twine and then tie this firmly to the heart shape at the bottom where it is secured.






 Start adding your greenery to the join with gardeners wire building it up until it covers all the wire and twine.  Finally tie with a ribbon.  I have used a gingham ribbon which can be stained with a used tea bag to give it a more vintage look, but I like the clashing brightness of the red against my grey/blue door!  Alternatively cut up strips of hessian sacking for a rustic look or simply use a red satin ribbon for a traditional look.

How to make....a cushion cover in 10 minutes

Heres how to make a simple cushion cover in just 10 minutes!

For an 18'' cushion pad you will need a strip of fabric approx 42'' long and 19.5'' wide. Start by ironing your fabric...it will make it all much easier!  As you can see I haven't done this as I am a bit lazy with the iron and my Mum would have something to say!  I will iron it when I have finished!!!!
Create a hem at one end by turning over the fabric a quarter of an inch twice to make a neat little hem and sew. Repeat at the other end.

Place your fabric with the right side up on the floor and place your cushion pad one third of the way down ontop of the fabric. Take the fabric from the top and fold it down over the front of the pad so that it comes just past half way down the pad and then fold the flap at the bottom up and over the front of the pad.  It should overlap your top flap by a few inches.  

Pin the join at the top taking care not to catch the pad underneath and then do the same where the other flaps meet along the seam.  Carefully slide out the cushion pad from the side. 

Carefully stitch down the both sides taking care to keep the flaps in position. When you have done this remove all your pins and turn out so the right side is outside, iron and you have your cushion.

This is how it should look at the back....

Angelic Art & Design

My extremely lovely and talented sister Angela Clarke of Angelic Art, designs and prints a range of wonderful greetings cards for all occasions. Specialising in pen and ink drawings her Christmas cards are particularly lovely and can be found at local suppliers across East Suffolk including Snape Maltings and 'Outside In' of Framlingham.  Alternatively contact Angie direct to place an order and she will post your order direct to you.  See her full range on her website http://www.tamg.co.uk/angelic-art/

Fireplace

This week we took the plunge to knock through our fireplace into our kitchen.  We had intended to block up the family room side but now we have done it we are going to leave it open both sides as it makes both rooms toasty!  The gorgeous oak beam was supplied by Craig Mackay of Kiwi Services. http://kiwi-services.com/ it took a bit of rubbing down by my hubby but now looks wonderful!  Craig also supplied our lovely stash of sweet smelling firewood, I can fully recommend Kiwi services to anyone looking for firewood in the Suffolk Coastal region.

Hag Stones to ward off the Hags

I made one of my 'Hag Stone' wreathes for a dear friend on her Birthday this week. Simple to make by stringing holey pebbles or 'hag stones' on 2mm plus guage garden wire, these look lovely hanging on a door and are fabled to ward off witches!!!!  The only problem is finding the hag stones.  It can take me up to a year of random searching to find enough stones to make a 10 inch wreath.  Let me do the hard work for you!!! Prices start for an 8'' wreath at £15.